12 steps for digital detox
Amy Winehouse and her creative cousins are not the only ones who need help getting clean. The entire digital industry is suffering from ailments that threaten its very hope of survival. Of course music and entertainment will never die, but the revenues associated with them are under threat as piracy only continues and initiatives to save them are thwarted by old school music and film moguls who dream of remedies that harken back to medicine of the dark ages.
If 95% of the music on iPods has been downloaded for free from P2P sites, then content creators are in denial if they think they are going to reverse this trend by suing users or charging ridiculous prices for music, video and experiences that can be transported over the internet for free. There will always be people who won’t pay, and there will be others who will pay if given additional experiences (discovery, filtering, etc). But new models are needed and the music, film and entertainment industry needs to use its creativity to work with those partners who are helping them to monetize their content rather than preventing them by charging advances and minimum guarantees that make entry into digital services impossible.
The 12 steps all dig down proposes for digital recovery
1) admit you are powerless over the consumer – the consumer is always right (and if they want free, give it to them!)
2) begin to believe that being open minded can restore you to sanity – the world has changed and it is time to change with it
3) make a decision to turn your life and your will over to logic
4) learn from your past mistakes, and those of others in similar industries (the ostrich in the sand strategy did not help the music industry, so why should it work for film and tv?)
5) admit to yourselves and those you serve that you were wrong; apologize and tell consumers you are ready to give them what they want
6) be ready to pounce on any opportunity to get your content in front of those passionate about your creativity; it is a new day
7) if you fail, try again… this is the time for creativity, not for retreating into what worked 50 years ago before the internet existed
8) create a list of all potential digital distributors and figure out how you can help them help you
9) stop suing people, especially your customers; work with corporate pirates who ripped you off before, but make sure they share their wealth with you and those you represent
10) keep following these steps; one epiphany is not enough to last into the next decade -- self improvement is an iterative process
11) actively seek to improve yourselves, ask your customers and partners over and over and over what they really want – and listen to them!
12) having had a rude awakening as a result of these steps, try to carry the message to others and to practice these principles in all of your business affairs
read this blog in the alldigdown.com official site
Posted at 11:43AM Apr 14, 2009 by shelley in Music | Comments[2]
I am sorry, but this is bull. Yes, the power situation in the internet is reversed right now.
But does that really mean that copyright has no purpose right now? The filesharing phenomnon is about ten years old right now, and the phenomenon is currently shaping up. there is definitely no awareness for intellectual property in the digital age, but does that mean that whoever is trying to build creativity is wrong?
No, it means that record and film companies are fighting an uphill battle, but it says nothing against being "right" or "wrong" in the first place.
I think the internet as much of a facinating meidum it is, is also a "can of worms", and I think we are seeing the tip of the iceberg just yet Spam, browser hijacking,. distribution of porn to minors, identity theft, copyright piracy etc.
All those problems need to be fixed sooner or later, and I am sure we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg right now.
I do think we will have a completely differewnt view in another ten or twenty years from now on this topic. In the meantime, saying copyright protection is wrong ... is wrong. Yes, copyright is weak right now, because it is close to powerless on the internet. But that does not mean tjhat "giving in" to piracy is the right choice.
Stefan
Posted by Stefan Herwig on April 15, 2009 at 04:29 AM GMT+00:00 #
All fair, good, noble and flawed.
How can you plan a digital recovery wanting to 'work with corporate pirates who ripped you off before, but make sure they share their wealth with you and those you represent'. What wealth are they going to distribute whilst giving it away for free? As we can see from the current furore with 'Twitter' thinking about putting on adverts most consumers seem to now lost the plot in terms of how these sites, musicians, producers etc actually survive.
They're does need to be some income, even if its pennies per track. And I think they're some very mixed messages coming out from artists. In a recent item on BBC News the one person from the 'Artists Coalition' said that music should be free to give away and another said they want better royalty rates from downloads! I've worked in almost every area in the industy (apart from being an artist!) and I find it very strange certain artists have signed up to record deals and now are very rich as a result. (I think they deserve it and I do not begrudge good pay for quality music). One featured artist signed and said he is 'rich beyond his wildest dreams' after a recent re-negotiation. It's the next crop of young artists coming through I fear for.....music needs fresh blood. It's in any music fans interest that a way is found to support that.
Posted by Jez Broster on April 15, 2009 at 05:40 AM GMT+00:00 #